‘Training Day’ TV Series Courts Ethan Hawke to Return, But How?

Crowded TV landscape as it is, no one was terribly surprised to hear Training Day had been added to the list of TV’s many movie properties, albeit with the benefit of director Antoine Fuqua aboard. Now, we’ve learned Ethan Hawke may have in mind to reprise his role from the 2001 film as well, though the level of involvement may change in development.

According to Deadline, CBS has held preliminary discussions with Hawke to return to his role as Detective Jake Hoyt, now potentially a Deputy Chief, depending on Hawke’s commitment. Sources say that an alternate version of the script was penned to feature Hoyt as the elder partner, mirroring Denzel Washington’s Alonzo Harris from the film, though Hawke understandably declined a full-time role.

The more likely pilot script earmarks a recurring Deputy Chief role for Hawke’s character, potentially in the same manner Bradley Cooper has occasionally appeared on CBS’ Limitless port, though Training Day may simply cast a separate Deputy Chief, and feature Hawke in a different, more flexible capacity.

The series is set in modern L.A, picking up 15 years after the events of the Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow film. Our new Training Day will also reverse the ethnicities of Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke’s film pairing, following “an idealistic young African-American police officer appointed to an elite squad of the LAPD where he is partnered with a seasoned, morally ambiguous Caucasian detective.”